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New Horizons
Well friends, we are well into 2018 and it’s looking pretty exciting. More news coming soon, but first we wanted to fill you in on a few things from last year.
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Our 3 months in the US were a whirlwind!
DJ brought the airplane south to TN in early November, just in time to escape winter in the North country. The Aarons generously opened space in their shop near Chatsworth, GA for DJ to work on the N118AK. Charlie Aaron, a Super Cub specialist and aircraft restorer, always had just the bolt, tool or suggestion that DJ needed as he worked. Among other things, a new engine monitor was installed and some safety modifications made.
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Charles Aaron lending a hand on Cub preparations.
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Soon we were off again! Destination: SW Michigan. DJ flew N118AK up while Jodi & Hadassah found quieter, earthbound rides both ways. After a presentation to the Aviation majors at Andrews University, we spent the rest of Thanksgiving week visiting supporters and spending time with family. We saw God’s hand on us again as we landed at a small airstrip near Lansing. There were no good tie-downs in sight and we needed to spend a couple of nights there. Just as we landed, a local Christian pilot drove up in his car and offered us a huge empty hangar. Don’t tell me that was coincidence!
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Encouraging and inspiring the Aviation majors at Andrews.
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Back in TN, we pushed hard towards a goal of ferrying the plane to Bolivia in December. The first challenge was the engine on the Cub. It had a fresh set of piston rings when we bought it and they had never “broken in” right, causing the engine to burn too much oil. DJ was worried about running low on oil on the long flights across the Amazon. He was told that it was too late to fix the problem without disassembling the engine, but our God is a God of the impossible. We borrowed a different propeller and flew the plane at full power for several hours just to see if that would help. With a lot of people praying…it worked! The oil consumption is now down to normal levels!
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Meanwhile, Jodi was working on getting airplane paperwork translated, notarized, legalized, authenticated etc, etc, etc. On the way into Chattanooga she was hit by a merging semi-truck and spun across several lanes of traffic on I-24. Eyewitnesses told her that it was a miracle she and Hadassah survived, let alone without a scratch!
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The Honda after the truck was finished with it.
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A few days later DJ got a call from the non-profit that was going to help import the Cub to Bolivia, requesting that we wait a few more weeks before bringing it down. Turns out some laws have changed and they wanted to make sure we showed up with all the required paperwork in order. DJ did not want to leave the plane behind but he knew that a few weeks could turn into a few months. After a brief struggle, he felt at peace with leaving the plane in Georgia until spring when we planned to be back for the ASI Southern Union convention. Finding a cheap ticket to Bolivia and a safe place to store the Cub sealed the deal.
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The Super Cub in a friend's hangar in Georgia waiting for March.
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Coming home to Cochabamba was exciting enough. Thick dust covered everything in the house, the water tank was polluted with hoards of dead termites, and the cat had a stuck hairball. The three tiled staircases in our apartment were suddenly menacing with Hadassah crawling everywhere. On the work front we were three months behind on office work. The Christmas holidays came just in time to keep us sane.
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So what does 2018 bring for GMA?
Here are some highlights on the horizon:
- Looking back at 2017 we are amazed and humbled by the generosity and blessings GMA received. We ended the year with the Cub equipped, funds for the ferry flight and a start on funding for importation. God provided people and funds for four medical trips. We were able to get our Bolivian citizenship (the long-term benefits outweighing the upfront cost) and begin working more closely with the Adventist church here. All this was made possible by God’s providence through people like you. Thanks!
- Beyond the cash in the airplane fund, ASI Southern Union has pledged $9,000 (offerings dependent) towards paying the Cub’s importation cost!
- DJ was accepted for refresher training in March with Mission Aviation Fellowship. It has been 3 years since he took their top- notch bush-flying course.
- A friend donated their 1961 non-flying Cessna 172 to GMA in Georgia, USA. Another friend offered to fix it up to flying condition in exchange for putting a few hours of flight time on it. Since it wouldn’t work well in the Andes, the Cessna will eventually be sold as a fundraiser.
- A good friend of ours was assigned his first pastoral district…in the Inquisivi province where we have been doing medical work. More on that later.
- We found the second vehicle we had been looking for! Keep posted!
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